American Comics: BOSS Invasion

In the heart of Gotham City, within its most luxurious private cemetery, a grand funeral was underway. The guests in attendance were overwhelmingly distinguished gentlemen, either heirs to prominent families or CEOs of various companies.

Even the most ordinary among them was a seasoned, street-smart police officer named Harvey.

After so many years on the force, he thought he'd seen it all – encountered every kind of scum, endured the most brutal battlefields, and navigated the silent, cutthroat world of office politics.

Yet, the events of the previous night still left him questioning his sanity.

The most powerful figure in Gotham City, the owner of Wayne Enterprises, Thomas Wayne, and his wife, Martha Wayne, had simply and inexplicably died in a shooting?

Initially, preoccupied with getting off work, he hadn't paid much attention to a few deaths. This was Gotham City, never a beacon of light; murder and crime were as commonplace as breathing.

Tragically, his new partner was a fresh-faced rookie, straight from the battlefield, bearing the title of war hero. He radiated an obnoxious aura of justice, a naive idealist with a bloodhound's tenacity for rooting out evil.

And it was precisely this that led the fellow named Jim Gordon to rashly interfere in a case that was absolutely off-limits.

Different districts had different rules. The death of prominent figures like the Waynes in a back alley was a major earthquake. Handing it over to the Major Crimes Unit, filled with ambitious climbers eager for recognition, would have been welcomed by those two idiots.

But he was different. After so many years as a cop, witnessing so much depravity, Harvey had long since trampled his sense of justice underfoot, kicking it into some forgotten gutter.

For him, being a police officer was just a job, a way to while away his remaining years. He didn't expect a happy, peaceful retirement. What a joke! Over fifty percent of retired cops ended up getting whacked by vengeful enemies. So, to ensure he lived a few more days, Harvey's survival strategy was to avoid sensitive cases whenever possible. Unfortunately, this peaceful existence had been shattered by the naive rookie.

Fortunately, his corrective measures were timely. He immediately contacted the leader of the central district's underworld, Fez Mooney.

With unspoken understanding, they planted a crucial piece of evidence from the shooting – an antique pistol worthy of a museum – on a hot-tempered scapegoat with no connection to the case.

Through a cleverly orchestrated setup, they exposed the patsy's whereabouts and then shot him dead on the spot!

Bingo! Case closed. The two of them became instant celebrities for solving the Wayne Enterprises murder case, even landing on the front page of the company's newspaper.

Harvey felt he'd handled things exceptionally well, turning around such a high-risk situation in just a few days.

As everyone stood in silent mourning, he calculated that he could leave the cemetery in a few minutes, and the whole affair would be completely over.

Unfortunately, Jim Gordon didn't see it that way. For some reason, he walked up to Bruce Wayne.

The new heir to the Wayne family was just a teenager, still reeling from the sudden and devastating loss of his parents. The shock had left him dazed and disoriented.

"I want to say how sorry I am for your loss, but the case is closed. It's over. You need to embrace a new life!"

Bruce Wayne nodded slightly, "Thank you! Without your help, the killer might still be out there!"

"You're welcome. It's my duty. Justice may be delayed, but it's never absent. Only by becoming truly strong can you face any difficulty!"

Jim Gordon didn't even know what he was saying, feeling pity for the boy before him. Even as the sole heir to Wayne Enterprises, inheriting an immeasurable fortune, he was still just a child who had lost his parents.

Jim Gordon felt a particular connection because he had a similar experience. When he was about the same age, a drunk truck driver had suddenly taken his mother's life. He remembered sinking into despair for a long time, enduring great pain before finally climbing out of the abyss and accepting the cruel reality.

If he could do it, so could the boy, but he didn't know how long it would take, whether it would be a few short months or a lifetime!

Things had happened so suddenly, and the case had been closed so quickly, that the whole process was completed before Bruce Wayne could even react. The police had presented various detailed pieces of evidence, with several sets of corroborating information, making it very convincing.

But Bruce Wayne never felt any sense of relief from those papers. His mood remained heavy, unable to recover from his father's murder.

Alfred, the butler to two generations of Waynes, understood the family far better than the young master who had just taken over.

He even had his own suspicions about Thomas Wayne's death.

They might have been assassinated, but they would never have been killed by an ordinary thug. The Court of Owls must have been involved; they possessed vast power, immense wealth, and formidable strength.

What did the Wayne family have? Only a young boy still immersed in grief. Besides some money, they had nothing.

Rather than fighting a monster empty-handed, it was better to pretend ignorance, conceal the truth, and secretly accumulate strength. When the time was right, he would lift the curtain and strike off the enemy's head in one blow.

Alfred's plan was sound, and the police were cooperative. As he had predicted, the Court of Owls had extended its influence into the police system, easily altering the investigation's outcome.

The future would likely be peaceful for a long time, until Bruce Wayne came of age and continued the Wayne family line. Then, his task would be complete.

His idea was good, and if there were no accidents, the name of the Court of Owls would not reach Bruce Wayne's ears for at least five years.

Unfortunately, an accident did happen!

Just as Bruce Wayne was about to leave after paying respects to his parents, a blonde woman in a black suit, holding a gray briefcase, walked up and smiled, "Mr. Wayne, I have some important information about your parents that I'd like to discuss with you in private."

Bruce Wayne was taken aback.